Figo, who made his 126th appearance against France, was plucked from international retirement to lead his side in Germany, but will return to Inter Milan and the Serie A without getting his hands on the cherished trophy.

All he has to look forward to now is an anti-climatic third-placed play off against Germany on Saturday before heading off into the sunset.

Other than coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, few seriously expected Portugal to get as far as they did, overcoming the likes of Holland and England enroute, and it is a credit to Figo for driving them to within reach of Sunday's final in Berlin.

He had been widely written off before the tournament despite a glittering club career with the likes of Sporting Lisbon, Barcelona, Real Madrid and now Inter, but proved the critics wrong.

Unlike his former Real teammate Zinedane Zidane, who has also seen a spectacular return to form and killed off Portugal with the decisive penalty on Wednesday, Figo has produced more steady, workmanlike performances.

But he nevertheless inspired his team which looked to him for their cue as they matched their best ever performance at a World Cup -- in 1966 they lost 2-1 to eventual champions England in the semi-finals.

While Figo, 33, no longer bursts past defenders, he has shown that his dribbling skills are still intact and his vision excellent, although he retains a dark side.

His near headbutt of Mark van Bommel in Portugal's card frenzied second round match with the Dutch showed even he can lose his cool in the heat of battle.

Figo announced he was taking an indefinite break from international football in August 2004, just one month after he led hosts Portugal to the final of Euro 2004, where they lost 1-0 to Greece.

But Portuguese football chiefs never awarded his number 7 jersey, hoping for his return, and in May 2005 he was entinced back to the national team in time for World Cup qualifiers against Slovakia and Estonia.

"You think about what you have done, about the country behind you, supporting you, suffering with you and that gives you the strength to continue to play," the rejuvenated star said coming into the tournament.

Figo was the first real Galactico, moving to Real in 2000 when then-president Florentino Perez paid a world-record 56 million dollars to buy him out of his contract with arch-rivals Barcelona.

Zidane and Brazil's Ronaldo followed him to the club, with Figo playing an important part in Real's victories at the 2002 European Cup and the 2003 Spanish championship.

But he left when it became clear David Beckham was favoured on the right and recently blasted the club for letting commercial decisions take precedence over sporting ones.

Like many of Portugal's "golden generation" who won the world under-16 tournament in 1989 and the world under-19 title in 1991, Figo has won top club honours and also been named both European and World Footballer of the Year.

Success though at international level eluded him and the World Cup was his last chance to win a major title.